Gorillas at a US zoo have tested positive for the coronavirus in what is believed to be the first known cases among such primates.
San Diego Zoo and Safari Park executive director, Lisa Peterson, said eight animals are believed to have the virus and several have been coughing.
It is believed the infection was passed on by a member of the park’s wildlife care team who also tested positive for the virus but has been asymptomatic and wore a mask at all times around the gorillas.
The park has been closed to the public since December 6 as part of the state of California’s lockdown efforts to curb coronavirus cases. Vets are monitoring the gorillas and the animals are being given vitamins, fluid and food but no specific treatment for the virus.
“Aside from some congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well,” Ms Peterson said.
While other wildlife has contracted the coronavirus from minks to tigers, this is the first known instance of transmission to great apes and it is unknown if they will have any serious reaction.
The gorillas infected at the San Diego safari park are western lowland gorillas, whose population has declined by more than 60 per cent in the last two decades because of poaching and disease, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
They will remain together since separating them could be harmful to the gorillas that live in tight-knit groups.
“This is wildlife, and they have their own resiliency and can heal differently than we do,” Ms Peterson said.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park plans to share what it learns with health officials, conservationists and scientists to develop steps to protect gorillas in the forests of Africa.
